A Letter from wish kid Hunter

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Hey, I’m Hunter.

I’m just your average teenager – I love to watch football, hangout with friends, and go camping or backpacking with my close friends. I also wrestle, play lacrosse, and throw in track. Unlike your every day teenager, I went through something none of my friends have gone through. In December 2017, I was at wrestling practice and we were doing a pretty aggressive drill. You’re fighting your partner with your hands– pushing and pulling your partner. After practice that day, my head hurt really, really bad.

That night I had a hard time falling asleep because of my massive headache. The next day at school, I texted my mom telling her that I needed to go home because my head was killing me. My mom came to pick me up and took me to the hospital. They decided they should give me a CT scan to make sure I didn’t pull a muscle in my neck during wrestling practice. After the CT scan, they said I should get my results in about 30 minutes. Two hours later, the doctor comes in the room and starts to feel my neck. She started saying stuff to someone on the phone like, “yeah, I feel a difference,” and “it’s a lot bigger than the other side.” My mother and I sat there in confusion, wondering what was going on. She tells me that I need to go down to Children’s Hospital in Aurora, Colorado because there is a mass blocking my airway. Two days later, we went down to Children’s and we had a ton of tests and blood work. The final place I went that day was upstairs on Level 7, which is the cancer ward. Up there was the first-time cancer could be what the mass was, which shocked all of us. They decided they wanted to do a biopsy to test to see if it was or was not cancerous.

On December 27th, my sixteenth birthday, I woke up and got my license. Then my mom drove me down to Children’s for my biopsy. When I got out of my biopsy, my mom told me a story about what I was doing while still under: singing with the nurses, talking about the love of life, and explaining how much I hated my English teacher for assigning homework over Christmas break (which I ended up not doing).

That night my mom drove me home and the next morning I woke up in a cot with something sticking out of my arm. I was a little confused and stood up to use the bathroom, which woke up my mom. I turned the corner out of the bathroom and there was my mom, asking if I was okay. I was confused and she told me to sit down. That’s when I was informed, I had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. We went down to Children’s to receive four rounds of chemo, which happened at Children’s and in Cheyenne – so we didn’t have to drive as much.

Around this time was when I was introduced to Make-A-Wish. Make-A-Wish offered me a chance to do something I wouldn’t usually get to do. My wish was to meet the Green Bay Packers, because I have been a fan all my life. I became a Packer fan all the way in Wyoming because my dad’s family is from Upper Michigan. Up there, you either like the Detroit Lions – that suck – or you like Green Bay – which is the best team in the NFL.

I met the Green Bay Packers in September and it was the best thing ever. I had a blast and so did my family. Make-A-Wish flew us out to Green Bay, Wisconsin - the next day we got to tour Green Bay and spend time with family. On Saturday, we woke up and rode in a limo to Lambeau Field. We took a tour, and, in the cafeteria, we got to see some of the players walk out to practice. We headed to the Don Huston Center, the indoor practice field, which most people never get to go to in their life. Inside, I got to meet the GOAT – aka Greatest Of All Time – Aaron Rodgers. During their afternoon practice, the team huddled up around me and I got to yell my favorite Packers player’s name. I said Kyler Fackrell because he is a great player and had the most sacks last season. Then they made a tunnel that we got to run through. After that, we went back to the cafeteria and ate some food with Aaron Rodgers and got some gear signed. The next day we woke up and went to Lambeau Field again, where we got to park right next to the entrance. I got to go down on the field and touch the grass – which they normally yell at your for and don’t let you touch it. I also got a photo with Aaron Rodgers in his full uniform.

We went to our seats, which were right on the 50-yard line and only 25 rows up - so it was very close. The game was great, and we got to kick some butts.
The opportunity to meet the Green Bay Packers with my family was amazing. I couldn’t have asked for anything else. I would like to thank Make-A-Wish Wish Wyoming for all they have done for me and my family. A big thanks to all the supporters that have helped give me this opportunity.